Jaguar Land Rover workers are in line for an industry-leading wage deal which would boost pay packets by nearly ten per cent over two years.

Shop stewards met to consider a recommended two-year agreement which could mean up to 9.8 per cent extra – just two years after Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich factory was saved from closure.

The deal, thrashed out over four days of talks last week, covers JLR’s 21,000-strong workforce at Castle Bromwich, Solihull, Gaydon and Whitley in the West Midlands and Halewood on Merseyside.

Unite national officer for the automotive industry, Roger Maddison, said: “We have been involved in hard negotiations with JLR’s management.

“However, we have a great workforce producing a very successful range of vehicles and it is only right that our members share in the nearly £3 bilion profit made by JLR over the last two years.

“The car industry in Britain is riding a wave which shows what can be achieved when the workforce and management work closely together – for example, JLR, which is owned by Indian conglomerate, Tata, has invested £4 billion in JLR over the last three years.”

If accepted by the stewards and then the workforce, the deal will mean a pay rise of 4.5 per cent, plus £500 from 1 November, which equates to 6.3 per cent in real terms for a shopfloor worker at Land Rover.

The rise from November 1, 2013, will be three per cent or that of the Retail Price Index (RPI).

From November 2,400 agency workers with JLR will become permanent employees, described by Mr Maddison as “another very welcome boost to manufacturing employment in the UK”.

Other elements of the deal include new starter rates rising from 90 per cent to 95 per cent of the current pay rates, as well as an increased holiday bonus for the summer holiday.

An investment and sourcing agreement will guarantee the operation of all UK plants until at least 2022.

Unite has about 17,000 members at JLR involved in Jaguar and Land Rover production.